Mathematics Instruction, Strategies For Solving Basic Operations Are Strong And Systemic Essay

In order to improve my instructional practices, I analyzed instructional data from district math diagnostic and proficiency assessments. The most recent assessment assessed student’s abilities to count, add and subtract, and their understanding of place value. My students scored below not only the other first grade students at the school, but also all first grade students in the district. 81.6% of my students could count, read, and write numbers to 120. This was an improvement from their diagnostic assessment. However, only 66.7% could relate counting to addition and subtraction, and only 45% demonstrated understanding of place value in two digit numbers.

In a math classroom, the teacher cannot neglect the need for providing a print rich environment. “Word walls are a technique that many classroom teachers use to help students become fluent with the language of mathematics. It is vital that vocabulary be taught as part of a lesson and not be taught as a separate activity” (Draper, 2012). Draper acknowledges the fact that words in mathematics may be confusing for students to study as “words and phrases that mean one thing in the world of mathematics mean another in every day context. For example, the word “similar” means “alike” in everyday usage, whereas in mathematics similar has to have proportionality” (Draper, 2012). Fites (2002) argues that the way a math problem is written drastically will effect a student’s performance, not just in reading the problem, but in solving the math equation as well. There is where the misinterpreting of different word meanings in math comes into play. Fites continues with the importance of understanding vocabulary not just in reading but for math as well with the correlation between improved vocabularies in math yields improvement on verbal problem solving

Within mathematics instruction, strategies for solving basic operations are strong and systemic. However, students in the intermediate grades struggle with finding and using reliable strategies for solving word problems. The complexity of language that’s used in a mathematical context makes it difficult for students to have a confident approach. Therefore, action research is being conducted on how reading comprehension can be dove-tailed with word-problem-solving in an elementary classroom. Action research will be used to make a positive change in the

List Mathematical Guiding Principles from California Common Core State Standards for Mathematics (CA CCSSM) and describe in your own words the importance of these principles

[As a result of the step by step direction in the reengagement lesson, I want students to be able fully grasp the concept of addition; and how the knowledge of addition can be used to provide answers to expressions that require the decomposition of numbers totaling 8, 9, 10. The state standard that I am addressing in this reengagement lesson is 1.OA.1 Common Core State standards; use addition and subtraction within 20 to solve word problems involving situations of adding to, taking from, putting together,

This program is appropriate in a diverse, 4th grade general education classroom. The modules are made up of “Topics” and “Lessons” that are aligned to Common Core State Standards (CCSS). Each module provides the foundational standards needed for the lessons (i.e. CCSS from the previous grade), as well as the focus grade level standards. The first module introduces concepts which are then spiraled within the next module’s focus. While the modules are thematic and based on each mathematics domain (base ten numbers, geometry, fractions, data, algebraic thinking), some standards are seen across topics and lessons. Each lesson has allocated time to four major components: fluency practice, concept development, application problems, and student debrief.

At New Bern High School, Charlie Bernthal, a freshman, sits in a class room instructed by Common Core standards. It will take one of Charlie’s teachers six minutes to demonstrate the various methods to complete a simple multiplication problem, such as 63 x 24. Students are taught to use arrays, lattice, partial product methods, and eventually the traditional U.S. customary method. The Common Core standards happen to be a big discussion point during this year’s election. People have many strong opinions when it comes to the Common Core State Standards, but researchers and institutions express reasons why teachers and schools should not use Common Core to instruct America’s youth. Schools and teachers should not teach by Common Core standards because these standards are detrimental to our children.

The teacher will prompt the students with questions. For example, if the students do not know where to begin, the teacher may ask: “What do we do first? We have to underline all the important information in the problem that we need to solve it” - the students will then point out all of the important information for the teacher to underline (i.e. “43-page book”, “first day - 14 pages”, etc.) As with the problem modeled by the teacher, the students will first decide how to demonstrate the problem using counters. As the teacher places and counts the counters on the overhead projector, students can use their own counters to try and solve the problem on their desks. Afterwards, the teacher will help the students make an equation for the problem based on the actions they performed with the counters.

When many people think of elementary education, they think of reading small passages and learning the difference between addition and subtraction in easy, creative ways. Now, with the new Common Core State Standards implemented, today’s kids will have more things to worry about. They are asked more challenging questions and expected to have more rigorous answers. This does not set a steady learning pace for the average child.

Reading comprehension may be the most important skill for any student to acquire and is therefore an area of particular interest to educators. Without adequate comprehension skills, students are limited in their reading, analytical and occupational abilities. To many, including the student’s themselves, comprehension or “good reading” skills begin and end with simple decoding. It is thought that if students can ‘read’ and define the vocabulary they are reading, then they also comprehend what is read. True comprehension goes far beyond decoding, however. True comprehension requires visualization of a text, predicting events in the text, making inferences about the text and clarifying what is not

Throughout the eighth grade year, my reading comprehension and analysis skills have dramatically strengthened. First, my reading comprehension abilities have strengthened over the year because of the strong vocabulary that filled the books I read. The books that used advanced terminology were Lord of the Flies, Fahrenheit 451 and Twelfth Night. Whenever I read a word I didn’t understand in these novels, I always searched for the definition. By using this effective reading strategy, I was able to strengthen my vocabulary while receiving a complete comprehension of the novel being analyzed. Lord of the Flies, Fahrenheit 451 and Twelfth Night were both challenging novels to read because of their sophisticated vocabulary. However, these challenging

The theoretical framework is founded on the pretense that much has been written concerning the problems that many students have with the comprehension of reading materials, especially content texts--science, math, and social studies. Alexander (1988) suggested that these children may be those who have little trouble with their basal readers or trade books, yet are unable to derive meaning from what they read in content area textbooks.

Students having hard times in comprehending the thought of the text and what the author implies. It seems to be reading by words but not reading between the lines. It is important to know how comprehension plays an integral part in a manner of thinking and conceptualizing facts and ideas from the

The failure of students being able to read and comprehend what they are reading is a great concern for most schools. When students enter the fifth grade and are not on grade level, they are already behind their classmates. Teachers are then responsible for remediating the students to get them on grade level. Unfortunately, these same students are unable to keep up with on grade level standards teachers are required to teach, because they lack the skills needed. These students will continue to struggle throughout their education because they will not be able to catch up to their grade level. Many educators have realized there is a gap between fluency and comprehension. Because of this realization, special instruction such as guided reading and remedial teaching has been implemented.

In this information–driven age, preparing students to read a variety of texts with complete understanding should likely be one of our educational system’s highest priorities. Understanding is more than just the ability to produce information on demand (knowledge) or the ability to perform learned routines (skills). “Understanding is the ability to think and act flexibly with what one knows.” (Active Learning Practice for Schools, n. d.) A review of the literature in the area of reading comprehension of elementary-age students shows two principle areas of focus. There is a body of literature that examines the development of proficient vs. struggling comprehenders and another body of literature that compares methodologies for teaching